Finishing the Shape

Did you know that every book is the answer to a question? I'm serious. Every book is almost like a very in-depth Jeopardy question: 

Q: "This is what would happen if a whaling captain had a really long-standing vendetta against a whale that ate his leg."
A: What is Herman Melville's Moby Dick? 

Q: "In this uncharacteristically short tale, a guy started to mysteriously lose weight, but looked the same, until one day he is weightless."
A: What is Stephen King's Elevation? 

Q: "This story is a first person narrative account of horses that could talk to each other and also have feelings."
A: What is Anna Sewell's Black Beauty?

The whole process of planning a piece of writing, whether it's a multi-book series, a standalone novel, or a short story, actually reminds me of something I did in first grade. Our teacher would take a blank sheet of paper, draw a line, shape, or squiggle on the paper, and make a copy for every kid in the class. The rules were simple: using that black mark as a jumping-off point, make a picture. We had to use the whole page, and it was an exercise that I loved. 

Writing is much the same. For the short story I posted the other day, the question was "what would happen if an introverted bibliophile thought she was the last person on earth, and took it upon herself to save all the books she could?"

Writing can be such a daunting process, for me at least. Sometimes the initial idea for a short story or novel pops into my brain fully formed, almost like giving birth to a baby only to realize it has a full mouth of teeth and can walk. Sometimes it's trickier, and the pieces of the puzzle come together more gradually. Sometimes I think I know where I'm going with it, but end up feeling like I'm building a car while I'm driving it down the interstate. Parenting is much the same, honestly. 

The really hard and exciting part is grinding it out. Realizing that you saw the black squiggle on the page, and decided what it's going to be. Then you have to get your crayons out and use the whole page. The good news is that it can be whatever you want it to be. I'm in the thick of this process now a few chapters into my third book, and I'm realizing that despite a pretty exhaustive prep process (more of that in a future blog post), sometimes I come up against a carefully planned storyline or character that just will not stay in the little box I have written them into, and it's going to change the entire plot. And you know what? I couldn't be more fine with it. 

What's a good book you've read lately? Hit the comments section, tell me what question the book answered for you. I'm always looking for good books to add to my list. 

Happy reading!